North Korea seeks to discredit prominent gulag survivor over partial backtrack on life story

SEOUL, South Korea – North Korea is seeking to discredit a prominent North Korean prison camp survivor who recently admitted inaccuracies in parts of his widely read story of horrific abuse in the North.

Pyongyang's government-run Uriminzokkiri website said Tuesday that Shin Dong-Hyuk's backtracking proved that the entirety of his description of life in a North Korean prison camp was "scripted by (his) masters." It also says survivor reports published in a U.N. investigation into Pyongyang's human rights abuses must be "nullified."

Pyongyang harshly criticized Shin even before his recent retraction of some details in a 2012 book.

Shin has stuck to the most horrific elements about torture and imprisonment. His earlier account helped drive international efforts to hold Pyongyang accountable for what's widely regarded as one of the world's worst human rights records.